


I Shouldn't Have Kissed You That Night

by RebeccaAnabelBurrows



Category: DCU, Justice League - All Media Types
Genre: Domesticity, Drinking Games, Drunken Kissing, Fluffy, M/M, Parties, Sober kissing, you could catch second-hand embarrassment from this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:47:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24997084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RebeccaAnabelBurrows/pseuds/RebeccaAnabelBurrows
Summary: Parties are had, dishes are washed.Misunderstandings are cleared up.
Relationships: Hal Jordan/Bruce Wayne, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 119





	I Shouldn't Have Kissed You That Night

They had been playing drinking games earlier but Hal had been careful to stick to soft drinks since Carol had required his presence for an early flight in the morning. 

Bruce had been sitting in the armchair at Hal’s right and he had noticed he wasn’t drinking much. Hal suspected he had been cutting down his alcohol consumption these last few months - he had observed the same behavior from Bruce in the last few parties they both had attended to - and didn’t mention it. 

The fact that he did observe Bruce at parties carefully enough to notice changes in his drinking habits should have worried him but Hal put in on his superhero job, merely an assessment of what was happening around him.

If not this, maybe drunkenly kissing Bruce at Arthur’s engagement party should have done the trick, but Hal was very good at lying to himself and blamed it on the alcohol exclusively. Chances were he would have kissed Oliver if he hadn’t crossed Bruce’s path first. 

It was a bit of an embarrassing memory but Bruce hadn’t made a big deal out of it so it wasn’t as mortifying as it could have been. It had drifted to the back of Hal’s mind but tonight had brought it back to the front of his thoughts.

Hal had just moved into a new place. It wasn’t big, since Hal didn’t spend that much time home and it would have been a waste of money but sound and thermal insulation was far better than in his old flat. Oliver had convinced him to invite his teammates for a (kinda late, Hal had moved in eight months earlier but spent a lot of time in space lately) housewarming party. 

It was more an excuse to reunite and have some fun than anything else. After eating pizza - Hal didn’t feel like cooking for all of them, some having a non-human metabolism -, they had started playing games. 

Drinking games. Oliver had provided the alcohol and Clark had suggested they played some games. It had been quite fun, even if Hal was only drinking grenadine. 

But then Hal had caught Bruce lying, or rather, not admitting to the truth, and it had troubled him. Bruce usually played fair during these games and their teammates had admitted to worst. Hal frowned when their gazes met but Bruce didn’t look away so he just shrugged and tried to ignore the feeling of unease forming in his stomach. Maybe he should talk to Bruce about this, it seemed important somehow.

He didn’t have the occasion to do so for a couple of hours. Finally, he found Bruce in the kitchen while he went looking for more snacks. He had thought he had gone to the bathroom but actually, Bruce was washing the dishes. Hal shut the door behind him quietly and looked for a dish towel to dry the plates and cutlery Bruce had put in the drainer.

They worked in a comfortable silence for a minute or two.

“You know you don’t have to do this, right ?” Hal said, when he realized Bruce wasn’t going to start the conversation.

What a strange sight Bruce was offering him, with the sleeves of his - no doubt - costly shirt rolled up to the elbow, revealing ridiculously sinewy forearms and soapy hands, washing his dishes. It made Hal feel warmer for some reason.

“I don’t mind.” Bruce answered. 

He wasn’t looking at Hal and the Green Lantern couldn’t resist touching his arm. For a second, Bruce tensed, but he turned toward Hal and met his eyes.

“I mean it. I have a dishwasher.” Hal said softly.

He was smiling but he wasn’t certain why. They could hear laughter in the living-room and Oliver’s booming voice. The man was good with audiences. 

“I needed a break.”

Hal didn’t ask from what. The noise, the alcohol, the people… It could be many things. 

They spent some more time in silence and Bruce went back to washing the dishes and Hal to dry them without saying a word, each focusing on their own thoughts. 

Soon enough Barry had barged in to ask Hal if he had found something to eat. Hal gestured toward a cupboard and Barry was out of the room with his earnings (some crackers and peanuts) a second later.

Not long after, Bruce rinsed his hands and Hal dried the last plate. None of the two initiated a movement toward the door, they just leaned on the counter together. 

“Never have kissed a teammate before, uh ?” Hal asked after a few seconds.

It had kept bugging him for the whole evening. Why hadn't Bruce drunk ? Was he that ashamed ? It didn’t mean anything !

“I haven’t.” Bruce answered, looking at Hal seriously. 

His tone was so firm that he almost convinced Hal, but Hal had been there, had felt Bruce’s lips under his. He remembered it clearly.

Hal laughed at Bruce’s denial. 

“Trust me, you have. I wasn’t that drunk.” he said. 

Bruce tilted his head a bit, which gave him a contemplative look. Hal wasn’t sure to like that. 

“No, I haven’t. But you have. And you were. That drunk.” 

“Oh.” 

The realization had hit Hal like a wall. One built with concrete, at the very least. He gulped visibly. He hadn’t thought - it had been stupid on his part, really. He took a long breath and met Bruce’s piercing blue eyes. 

Hal resisted the urge to look at his feet and to shift his weight from one foot to the other. Bruce didn’t need to bother with the cowl to be intimidating, even with his sleeves rolled up, which was rather distracting. 

“I want to apologize for the other day. The last party. I never meant to - uh, that wasn’t - I shouldn’t have kissed you that night. It was wrong and I am sorry that I took the liberty and -”

Bruce pressed his arm lightly and Hal shut up, which was probably the desired effect. 

“It’s not something worth losing your breath over, Jordan. I got over it, you should too.” Bruce said quietly.

“It was a great night. I feel bad for having ruined it for you.” Hal said, scratching his neck. 

“Stop being so upset. I wouldn’t have let you kiss me if I found the idea utterly abhorrent.”

Hal looked up at that. 

“Wait, you didn’t mind ?”

“Oh, I did. Drunks don’t make the best kissers, you know ? In any case, you were a bit out of it and I had to stop you from doing things you were going to regret.” Bruce said, a half-smile on his lips. 

“But you didn’t mind that _I_ was kissing _you_.”

Bruce raised an eyebrow.

“Are we playing truth or dare now ? No, I didn’t. Thankfully I was sober enough to realize you weren’t in a position to consent before kissing you back.”

“And now ?” Hal asked, turning fully toward Bruce.

“Pardon ?”

“Do you think we are sober enough to make fully informed decisions, right now ?”

Bruce had barely drunk any alcohol and Hal was entirely sober, after all. Hal took a step closer. 

“Well, you’re not waxing poetry about my “eyes as pretty as a cloudless sky”, so…” Bruce smirked. 

Hal groaned.

“Hell, I’ve really said that ? Why do you even remember it ?” 

“Blackmail material.” Bruce smiled.

“That’s not like you don’t keep all our personal information in some files in the Batcave, hum ? Yeah, let’s not talk about this. Just so we’re on the same page, do you want to kiss me ?” Hal said quietly.

Bruce’s hands went to Hal’s hips and brought him closer. They stared at each other for a few seconds, and Bruce nodded. Hal leaned in.

They were getting more and more comfortable with the kissing - meaning Bruce had his hands on Hal’s ass and Hal’s hands had sneaked under his shirt when they were interrupted.

“Do you need-” Barry said as he entered the room before stopping and finishing his sentence lamely. “-any help ?”

Hal avoided looking at him and Bruce chuckled quietly, which brought him a glare from his partner. 

“I guess not. See you later, guys !” Barry, who had frozen for a second or two, said before leaving the room quickly.

“I hate nice guys.” Hal said, his forehead touching Bruce’s. 

“This is why you’re here kissing me instead of Barry.” Bruce pointed out, leaning in again. 

Hal put a hand on his chest to stop him. 

“About that, maybe I should find Barry before he tells the whole room what we were doing.” Hal said, sighing.

He wouldn’t have minded kissing Bruce a bit longer. 

“You shouldn’t worry too much about this.”

“Yeah, why ? I would have told the others, if our situations were reversed.”

Gossip was highly praised in their organization. 

“This team cruelly lacks tacticians, really. I haven’t.”

Hal tried to focus on what Bruce was saying instead of his lips, but it was a lost battle.

“Uh ?”

“I haven’t told the rest of the League when I walked in on Barry and his boyfriend this morning.” Bruce revealed.

Hal looked up. He hadn’t even known Barry had a boyfriend and he really should catch up with him. However, something about Bruce’s remark had seemed off.

“Boyfriends ? Is it where we are going ?” Hal asked hesitantly.

“If you’d like that too.” Bruce said prudently.

Hal nodded before kissing Bruce softly. They couldn’t stay here much longer before it got really suspicious, and Hal was still unsure Barry had covered for them. 

He was starting to rearrange his clothes when he realized what had bothered him about Bruce’s explanation. 

“Haven’t you said you went to Metropolis to work with Clark on the Watchtower’s schematics this morning ? Y- Wait. No ?”

Bruce nodded, and Hal couldn’t tell if he was amused or pained. 

“I was there early. And they were far less dressed than we are.” 

“Just give us a few hours.” Hal winked at him instinctively.

Bruce laughed before Hal properly registered what he had said.

“I didn’t mean it that way ! Uh, I did. But not - there’s no pressure there, I just wondered if you’d like to stay after the others have left ?”

Bruce took his hand to appease him. 

“Don’t you have to work in the morning ?”

“Plenty of time before that.” Hal argued, and Bruce had to agree.

Hal looked at the kitchen's door. Surely someone else was going to make an entrance soon, and probably Bruce couldn't blackmail all their friends. Well, he might have enough intel on them all to do so, now that Hal thought about it. 

"Let's go back. You better have a good explanation for us taking so long, Mr Tactician." he said, dragging Bruce with him.

Bruce stopped him from opening the door. 

"Hal. I don't think there's any good explanation for you holding my hand." 

Hal blushed and laughed, letting go of Bruce before he pushed the door open so they could join their friends for the rest of the evening.


End file.
